Hi all - I just bought a 2012 Prius Liftback 2 on Friday and am enjoying learning about my bad driving habits. My question is what kind of mileage can I expect from the car initially (it's got less than 100 miles) vs. after a few thousand miles vs. 10k miles plus? I've read different things in different places and figure this place might provide the best practical answer. Thanks in advance for any information (and advice!)
The biggest difference in mpg will come from weather and your ability to drive efficiently. Tire and drivetrain break in provides a minor increase. Just learn how to drive efficiently and pray for warm dry weather.
I got a 2012 IV a couple months ago and have been getting 54 mpg on average with a total of 2500 miles so far. I played around some on my last tankful and got close to 60 for the bulk of the tank but then my wife took it on a trip and brought the tank average down a few notches. It definitely can get better after you get some experience. PS I am in Fla and it is warm and dry and flat.
Don't know since we don't know anything about your drives, trip lengths, temps, etc. From my questionnaire at Fuel economy complaints/queries? Please copy, paste & answer these questions, esp. if you're new | PriusChat, answer these: - How long are your trips? - How much of it is city vs. highway? Roughly what's the average speed in overall and and of each segment? Is there a lot of stop and go driving? - What's the terrain like of your drives? (e.g. flat, gentle hills, steep hills, etc.) - Make, model, year, engine and transmission of previous car? (e.g. 08 Honda Civic Si 2.0L 4 cylinder, manual transmission) What did you actually get on the same trips/commute? (Please give us actual numbers, not EPA ratings.) - What region/state are you in? (if you haven't set your location)
Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate you taking the time. It sounds like how I drive, and the route I choice, is really the most important factor in how the car will perform. I've read other places that there is a post break in gain in fuel economy, but it seems like learning how to drive more efficiently during that break in period is actually what is happening. Thanks for the questionnaire - I've replied inline. Thank you in advance for any information/advice! My typical commute will be 40-45 miles each way. Depending on my route, my route can either be 85% interstate (65 mph) or 85% state highway (45-50 mph). The other 15% is suburban town/city driving with a decent amount of stop and go traffic (I work near a college campus) - probably average about 20 mph. I live in the piedmont of North Carolina. There are rolling hills with occasional short, steeper grades. My previous car was a 2001 Honda Accord - 2.3L 4-cyl. engine, Automatic transmission. I averaged roughly 26 mpg for this commute. I live in the piedmont of North Carolina. Thanks again!
Well, when it's not cold, I think you should see at least 50 mpg, maybe even 55+ mpg, given proper tire inflation. From Compare Side-by-Side, you were a bit below highway but well above EPA combined mileage w/your old car. Consumer Reports conducts their highway test at 65 mph and reports 55 mpg on that part (The most fuel-efficient cars | Consumer Reports).
I took some back roads into work today (my first commute) - I took it real slow (mostly for because the car is new) and the end of ride report says I was at 59.8 MPG.
The trip computer on Gen 3s (at least on the early (?) 2010s) is known to be high. I'm not sure how true that is now with '12 and '13 models. Might be good to compare trip computer values for an entire "tank" vs. manual calculations for at least a few tanks to see how accurate it is.
That's good to know. I'll be sure to keep track of the next tanks (I'm still on the dealer tank) and see if the numbers make sense. Thank you for the replies, the links and general knowledge has been helpful.
I second this. In a Gen II that has tank bladder issues, it's nearly impossible for me to accurately calculate mileage, but my sister took it on a long weekend trip this month and I figured out that she got about 42mpg. She wasn't driving it "efficiently" so I assume I get a few more. And quite frankly, although I do pay *some* attention to getting in those extra miles, for my short commutes, I'm just happy to have a reliable car that gets 40+ mpg, so I'm not nearly as fanatical about the mileage as most people here. And it's a given that in 5+ years when this one bites the dust, my next car will be a Prius.
I wouldn't say it's impossible. The Gen 2's bladder is just quirky. One can get a good idea of actual mileage on Gen 2 by averaging over several tanks.
Thanks for that information. It seems crazy that I'm hitting such high numbers, but it's been pretty consistent so far. Well, until tonight when it became cold and rainy - MPG was down to mid/low 50's. Part of it must be the under 60mph I've been keeping to during the break in process (I've been real careful). Regardless, I'm loving the fact that I one bar less than 1/2 tank left and 300+ miles on the trip odometer.
First fill-up tonight and I think I got 52 mpg 491.1 miles 9.434 Gal to fill (first click) Does that sound right?
It does. I have a '12 and find that my mpg at the pump averages about 3-4 under what the car tells me. Made me sad at first but still incredible mileage. When it was new in Aug I started on 60-64 mpg. Four months and 20k miles and i see average 54 but weather is cool too. When the dte shows 0, I find I can do 50 more miles comfortably. If you have an iPhone, check out mileagekeeper, cool app to track mpg and cost at the pump
I'll check out mileagekeeper for sure, it will be a good way to track my wife's car vs. the my car. In fact, it might be the only time I beat her out at anything. The DTE told me that I had 25-ish miles left, but I figured a blinking bottom fuel gauge bar was a good enough warning. I'll take my 50-ish MPG and smile all day.
You can multiply your current average mpg by 10 to get a safe estimated range assuming your driving conditions will maintain your current average mpg. So 50mpg x10 = 500 miles. Multiply by 11 if you are trying for records.
I don't understand Toyota. If manual says it has an 11.9 gal tank, why would the computer hit 0 dte before you use up 10 gallons? I do the math and base it on 10 gals, and 3 mpg less than the car says to see when i should worry. When I test drove it, the gas meter was blinking red and salesman said not to worry, no problem. I've never had it do that again but hate idea of getting stuck. Also hate that I freak out looking for gas only to find I could've gone another 80 miles.... High mpg and the tolerance is still hard to get used to! Surely not a complaint though.
